Razorback senior forward Kamani Johnson (#20) from Brooklyn, NY lays it up for two against Rogers State in an exhibition game Monday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- It's only an exhibition game, but it feels more like a NCAA Tournament game when No. 10 Arkansas takes on No. 12 Saturday in Austin.
Arkansas defeated Rogers State 83-49 Monday night in the first preseason game. Even Eric Musselman said Thursday this game doesn't have the feel of an exhibition game.
"I think so," Musselman said. "We didn't see it yesterday, I can promise you that. After an off day and after playing fairly well against (Rogers State), we need to practice a heck of a lot better than we did yesterday, I can promise you that.
"What that was yesterday at times I'm not quite sure, but it was not a good practice. I know that. I do think once we get on the plane and get to game day, that's kind of when they'll start feeling it a little more. Obviously, still practice today and practice tomorrow. At some point soon after tomorrow, we'll probably start feeling it."
But one word of caution for fans is to remember this game doesn't count. It's an exhibition game that should allow both teams to get a better idea of where they stand as the season is very near.
"Well I think they're going to react," Musselman said. "So, you already know that. It's a great question. I don't know if that's a question or a statement. It's an exhibition game. Look, we got the dress rehearsal, so to speak, out of the way with the game the other night where we were able to find out a lot of things. Not just on the floor, but it was the first time our players got to see how a team meal works and how the video works before the game and phones being collected in the locker room upon arrival. So all those things were all new.
"I was hopeful to give us a little bit more prep than what we’ve done. But it will allow us to get a road trip. And all this is in preparation for the regular season. So yes, this is an exhibition game, but also everybody’s got pride whenever you step out to compete. I think Coach (Chris) Beard says it best, both teams are going to get better after this game. That’s one thing. There is one guarantee. One team’s going to win and one team’s not going to win. But the one guarantee is that both teams will somehow figure out a way to get better after this 40 minutes of basketball."
Arkansas' Kamani Johnson admitted that Saturday's game isn't a typical exhibition game.
"Man, it’s an exhibition game for sure, but I would be lying to you if I said we didn’t know what’s at stake and the opportunity we have," Johnson said. "We’re playing Texas. For me and Devo (Davontae Davis), we got to experience our football team beating Texas and us rushing the field and all that stuff.
"And we’ve got a couple guys from Texas (Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh), and I know how personal the game is for them. Our team is looking at this as a rivalry game, even though it’s an exhibition game. That’s kind of how we’re preparing for it and how we’re going to play."
Walsh is a true freshman and one of three McDonald's All-America players in the most recent recruiting class. Walsh got to see what the Texas and Arkansas rivalry means when Davis and Johnson stormed the field after the Hogs defeated the Horns in 2021.
"I became aware of the rivalry during the recruiting process," Walsh said. "When it came down to the final four, it was like, ‘OK, Jordan, you have Arkansas and Texas on this list, like, somebody is going to hate you after, but you’ve got to pick one.’ It was kind of crazy. I didn’t realize how crazy it went until I started seeing things on Twitter with Horns Down and people were talking trash. I was like, ‘OK, this is serious, like, y’all ain’t playing games. I’m from Texas, but we’re going to figure this out.’ I ended up choosing Arkansas and it was like, yeah, it turned up a little bit. But it was still a good choice, I think."
On Thursday, Walsh revealed Texas' recruiting pitch to him and it involved the new arena.
"One of the big things with Texas schools is do not let Texas kids leave Texas," Walsh said. "They came strong in recruiting. I went on a visit to Texas, too, and one of their pitches was, you know, ‘We’re building a new arena. You could potentially be the first person to ever score in this area.’ I remember that, and now we’re getting to play them in the first game there and I still have that chance. That is a pretty cool thing. But yeah, they recruited hard, but I ended up choosing Arkansas."
Musselman talked about where he's at on the scouting report for the Longhorns.
"The prep started yesterday but we went pretty short on the preparation," Musselman said. "We had quite a few NBA executives, and I felt like them making the trip it was important that we did a little bit more live stuff than breakdown Texas. We have the same thing today. So, moving forward we will probably encourage NBA people to not come when we're doing prep stuff because I respect their time and I know what they want to see. I can promise you it's not preparation for another college team. It's guys getting up and down and so on and so forth. Our preparation will probably be a little bit less than what I hoped for."
Against Rogers State, Musselman started Walsh, Black, Nick Smith Jr, Jalen Graham and Trevon Brazile. He talked about how he feels that lineup did while not tipping his hand about Saturday.
"Obviously we took off the day after the game on Tuesday," Musselman said. "And Wednesday, which was yesterday, we put that same group out. The score got heavily tilted to the white team — not the starters. I have to give the second group a lot of credit. Ricky (Council IV) and Jordan flip flopped at times yesterday. But our second team came in with a different mindset yesterday than our starting group and it was quite evident by the score in our live competition.
"Where we go, how it evolves, for sure nothing is set in stone. We’re still evaluating. We’re going to see so many different things on Saturday than we saw on Monday. Then we’ve got a good over a week preparation before that. In no way, shape or form are we set that this is the starting lineup even for Saturday, because yesterday we made a few changes even as practice progressed. I’m not saying it won’t be the same starting lineup. Unlike maybe sometimes in the past where I said ‘Hey, this group’s going to start for 10 games and then we’ll reevaluate’, this is going to be much more of a game-by-game, probably, discussion amongst the coaching staff."
Saturday's game will tip at 3 p.m. There's no TV. The game was originally going to be shown on the Longhorn Network, but that isn't happening now. Arkansas opens the regular season on Monday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. hosting North Dakota State in Bud Walton Arena.